Simple reflow technique for fabrication of a microlens array in solgel glass

Abstract

A simple reflow method for fabrication of refractive microlens arrays in inorganic–organic ${\mathrm{SiO}}_2–{\mathrm{ZrO}}_2$ solgel glass is presented. To our knowledge, this is the first report that presents a simple reflow technique for transforming a negatively induced hybrid solgel material into desirable spherical microlenses. It is shown that the microlenses have excellent smooth surfaces and uniform dimensions. The reflow technique is considerably cheaper than use of a high-energy beam-sensitive gray-scale mask and is suitable for mass production.

© 2003 Optical Society of America

Fabrication of concave refractive microlens arrays in solgel glass by a simple proximity-effect-assisted reflow technique

Miao He, Xiaocong Yuan, Jing Bu, and Wai Chye Cheong
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Sample-inverted reflow technique for fabrication of a revolved-hyperboloid microlens array in hybrid solgel glass

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Reflowed solgel spherical microlens for high-efficiency optical coupling between a laser diode and a single-mode fiber

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